Policy and ethical review procedures
Purpose
The purpose of this Policy is to provide a clear statement about the University’s position in relation to the research, teaching and other activities involving animals. The policy establishes the responsibilities of those who involve animals in University activities and the key University roles in overseeing these activities. This policy is applicable to all staff and students employed by or studying at the University of Manchester. This includes any persons indirectly or not employed by the University who undertake activity involving animals under the auspices of the University, and/or use the University’s facilities directly or indirectly in activities involving animals, or act on behalf of the University elsewhere in the world undertaking activities involving animals.
The Animal Welfare Ethical Review Body (AWERB)
The AWERB is the local University oversight body responsible for delivering all legal requirements of AWERBs under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA) and Amendment Regulations 2012. The primary University AWERB is also tasked with additional responsibilities required by the University under this and other policies, which extends its remit to cover all activities involving animals regardless of whether they fall under ASPA. In addition to minimal membership defined by ASPA, the primary University AWERB must maintain a balanced representative membership including ‘public’ external members with no affiliation to the University of Manchester, non-scientific ‘lay’ members who do not and have not worked with animals, and an external expert statistician to provide professional impartial guidance on experimental design.
Before undertaking any activity involving animals, staff and students should consult the AWERB Handbook which provides detailed guidance as well as the AWERB Terms of Reference, Operational Framework and Operating Procedures.
Ethical Review Requirements
Before conducting any research, teaching or other activities involving animals, staff and students must conduct an ethical review assessing whether the prosed activity could be achieved without involving animals.
Where animals must be involved, either through use or any form of interaction, further detailed ethical evaluation is required. Staff and students must conduct an initial harm benefit assessment. Harms may include everyday animal welfare factors (‘contingent harms’) as well as those related to the activity (‘activity related harms’) or experimental procedures (‘project related harms’). Consideration of ‘harms’ should include absence of provision for known positive animal welfare needs (behavioural, social, etc). Due consideration must be given to the cumulative effect of harms. Evaluation must equitably consider the latest science, animal welfare knowledge, University and societal values. Staff and students must also consider whether they are adequately trained and fully up to date with all relevant regulatory expectations and best practice for all countries involved.
To proceed, ethical approval should first be sought through one of four pathways established by the Policy.
Categories of research, teaching and other activities involving animals and the related ethical review pathway.
The Policy establishes four categories of activities involving animals (Categories A, B, C and D). The ethical review requirements for each are outlined below:
Category A
Category A covers all work regulated by the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 and Amendment Regulations 2012.
Activities that fall under Category A require ethical approval by the AWERB. All Project Licence applications must complete this procedure in full before submission to the Animals in Science Regulation Unit (ASRU) of the Home Office.
If you are a researcher employed by the University of Manchester, you should complete the Category A AWERB Form.
If you are not employed by the University, you should complete the Category A AWERB Licence Holder Not Employed by UoM Form.
Category B
Category B covers the use of living animals in scientific procedures that would be defined as protected under ASPA if conducted in the UK but are being conducted outside the UK. Where an animal would not be protected under ASPA if used in the UK, but there is reason to consider the species as ethically equivalent to a protected animal under ASPA, it may also be considered under this category. For example, where a species has been recognised as sentient under UK legislation other than ASPA, it may be considered as if it were a protected species for the purposes of ethical evaluation.
Activities that fall under Category B requires ethical approval by the AWERB.
If you are a member of staff employed by the University of Manchester you should complete the Category B AWERB Form.
If you are a student at the University of Manchester, you should complete the Category B AWERB Student Placement Pathway Form.
Category C
Category C covers the use of tissue harvested from living animals that would be defined as protected under ASPA, or where there is reason to consider the species as ethically equivalent to a protected animal under ASPA, killed solely for research or teaching regardless of where the animals or tissue were sourced.
Activities that fall under Category C requires ethical approval by the AWERB.
If you are a member of staff employed by the University of Manchester, you should complete the Category C AWERB Form.
Category D
Category D covers the use of animals in research, teaching or other activities, that is not regulated under ASPA because the species is not defined as ‘protected’ by the Act, or because the activity does not involve the animal undergoing a scientific procedure as defined under ASPA.
Activity that falls under Category D requires appropriate and proportionate ethical review by the AWERB.
If the work proposed is to be hosted at the University of Manchester, you should complete the Category D AWERB Form.
If the work is to be hosted or carried out at another organisation, you should complete the Host Category D AWERB Form.
Further Information
For advice and guidance please contact the AWERB Secretary (AWERB.Secretary@manchester.ac.uk) and/or BSF (bsf.enquiries@manchester.ac.uk).